Kaiser leadership is digging in its heels on a plan to cut wages and benefits in an effort to deeply divide the workforce and our union—and we cannot let that happen.
We know that Kaiser has been making record profits—and even just announced plans to spend $900 MILLION on a brand new headquarters building in California!
We also know that our work is the key to Kaiser’s extraordinary financial success. Despite this, management believes that we, the Kaiser healthcare workers in the Northwest, are OVERPAID.
During bargaining, they claimed we are paid 26% above market-rate for healthcare workers in our region. Teresa Harris, a Dental Assistant from Grand Dental and a member of our bargaining team member said, “I find it offensive that Kaiser is claiming we are overpaid. We work hard to take care of our patients, and we are the people who have made Kaiser successful. We are already having a hard time hiring qualified staff because our wages are not high enough.”
Kaiser has great benefits for employees, but none of us would consider ourselves “overpaid.” The reason we’ve had good benefits is because SEIU members fought so hard 20 years ago to make Kaiser jobs good jobs for generations to come.
Now, it’s our turn to take the torch and continue that fight for our children, our communities, and the next generation of healthcare workers.
Kaiser management wants to cut benefits and wages for new hires. They hope if we fall for a two-tier set of benefits, in a few years those new hires won’t be there to stand with us to protect our benefits. That would greatly diminish the value of working at Kaiser and leave future generations of Kaiser healthcare workers behind. Kaiser’s unacceptable proposal demands big cuts from us, including:
- Increased copays to $20 for everyone
- Lower pay scales for new hires
- Elimination of the pension & the retiree medical plan for new hires
- Less paid time off for new hires
- More outsourcing and automation of our jobs
They say they would give current employees a “raise” but when asked, they won’t even say how much.
Here’s how we’re standing together:
- If you haven’t signed your pledge to support a strike if it comes to that, today’s the day to add your voice.
- Plan to come out to our pickets at Sunnyside Medical Center on June 28 and at Interstate on July 10. Bring families, friends, and co-workers.
- Download and print the short staffing form. Fill this out and submit to your Chief Steward when you experience staffing issues on your unit.
Be sure to use your Contract Action Team members as a resource for questions about our bargaining priorities and upcoming actions.